Warriors at Thunder
A matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder doesn't have quite the same bite to it with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook out of the picture, but Chris Paul and Steph Curry are still capable of summoning some magic. Curry and Paul will both be looking to lead their teams to their first victory when the Warriors visit the Thunder on Sunday.
Golden State is coming off five straight trips to the NBA Finals but looked nothing like a contender in the opener on Thursday, when it was run off the floor in a 141-122 home loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. "This is not a one-off, this is the reality," Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters after the loss. "There's going to be nights like this this year. You've got to play through it, you've got to keep fighting and keep getting better. That's the plan." Oklahoma City averaged 90 points in dropping its first two games and is still trying to find the offensive flow with a roster full of new players. "I do think we’re better offensively than what we've shown," Thunder coach Billy Donovan told reporters. "I think we've got to play to a higher level offensively especially with what we've done defensively the first two games."
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, NBCS Bay Area (Golden State), FS Oklahoma
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (0-1): Not only are Durant (left in free agency) and Klay Thompson (recovery from knee surgery) not around, Golden State also waived goodbye to key veterans Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala from the championship run and is breaking in a much younger roster. The Warriors did not resemble a cohesive unit on Thursday and shot 39.4 percent from the floor while allowing the Clippers to go off at 62.5. "We (expletive) sucked," Golden State forward Draymond Green told reporters. "And we gotta get better. I'm not a coach, so I'm not about to go watch a film and say, 'Oh, well we can build on this.' I really don't give a damn about what we can build on. We sucked tonight, and we gotta get better overall. And that's just what it is."
ABOUT THE THUNDER (0-2): The lone bright spot offensively for Oklahoma City in the first two games was guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who came over in the trade that sent Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers and is getting a chance at a larger role. The 21-year-old set a career high with 26 points in the opener and eclipsed that mark with 28 in Friday's 97-85 setback against the Washington Wizards. "He's really rangy and when he gets in the lane, he can kind of extend the ball to different areas," Donovan told reporters of Gilgeous-Alexander. "He takes some really unique angles and with English on the ball can finish a lot of those plays."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Curry scored 23 points in the opener but went 2-of-11 from 3-point range and committed eight turnovers in 30 minutes.
2. Paul was held to six points and committed five turnovers in Friday's setback.
3. Golden State took two of the three meetings last season, with Curry averaging 32.5 points in the victories.